Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Belgium. Both oncological treatment and
breast reconstruction have a significant psychological impact on women who have to go through this
stressful process. The final stage of breast reconstruction after oncological surgery involves the
delicate process of dermopigmentation or medical tattooing of the nipple-areola complex (NAC). As
this provides a very high level of patient satisfaction and restores the psychophysical integrity, as well
as a woman's sense of self-worth, beauty and confidence, it is a very important step in the process
and should not be underestimated. NAC medical tattooing or dermopigmentation is a non-surgical
reconstruction technique. Under local anaesthesia, pigments are applied under the epidermis 2-3
mm using micropuncture. Tattooing can be used alone or in conjunction with other reconstruction
techniques such as local flaps, grafts or nipple prostheses. If one of these techniques was not
chosen, 3D dermopigmentation can be used. This technique mimics relief by using diLerent colors
to create shadow.
Numerous challenges arise during the tattooing process, especially the need to achieve accurate
color matching using a range of ink colors. Currently, this procedure is highly dependent on the
person tattooing since he or she is responsible for mixing the diLerent ink colors based on subjective
judgment and intuition. AI (artificial intelligence) could help improve color matching.

We are interested in developing a tool for color analysis of a healthy nipple and to decide how much
of each ink color is needed to match the color needed for dermopigmentation.

You will integrate the group of Prof. Jef Vandemeulebroucke at the ETRO department of the VUB, who
are located on the second floor of the Pleinlaan 9 Building.
Dr. A Kapila and Dr. L Potvlieghe will be responsible for the clinical part. Department of Plastic,
Reconstructive and Esthetic Surgery, UZ Brussel-VUB, Route 753 UZ Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101,
1090 Jette.